School of Languages at XJTLU Conference 2024

Since the late 1990s when the term was apparently first coined (Whiteman, 1998) few would deny that we have been living in an increasingly VUCA (Volatile; Uncertain; Complex; Ambiguous) world. This seems to be particularly evident in the realm of universities, where recent years have witnessed massive changes brought about by neoliberal attitudes to education, the Covid-19 pandemic, a worrisome decline in students choosing Modern Foreign Languages and an explosion of interest in Generative AI, to highlight only four areas of concern.

However, while it is easy to position the VUCA landscape principally as a threat, it strikes me that we might also choose to take a step back from such portents of gloom and doom and use this chance to consider more fundamental questions about the wider role that Higher Education should play, what we want our students to learn, how their learning should then be assessed and the future relationship between universities and the workplace. From these alternative standpoints, we might well find that some of the current threats can be repositioned as opportunities.

In this opening plenary, I will share some critical reflections on the ever-changing landscape of international Higher Education. While I certainly cannot claim to have all the answers, in summing up what I see as the current state of play, I hope to provide conference delegates with some food for thought. Along the way, I will also suggest a few possible avenues for further consideration.